From Bastards to Imbeciles, Confidentially: Duginist Alt Media as an Exemplar of Faking the Reality

In this video we return to the problem faking reality by media, this time around the alternative ones. We’ll analyze the CIA document “Yugoslavia Transformed”, that is: the assessment on future of Yugoslavia, written and submitted on 18th October 1990, and referenced by exceptionally dumb (or devious) contributor on former main Duginist outpost Katehon. We demonstrate how collaborating documents can be used as “proofs” for the thesis in fact contradicting their content, on condition that reader doesn’t actually read them, but take the authors “reference” as sufficient in itself.

In the process we describe conditions in pre-war Yugoslavia and point out how American intelligence got much right but missed the central tendency of the situation, i.e. failed to predict an all out war.

We conclude with rather damning evaluation of alt media, especially those influenced by Duginist network and generally Russian sources both on the Left and on the Right.

Branko Malić

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4 Responses

You see, here in Romania right from the very beginning the commonly accepted version was precisely this: that NATO destroyed Yugoslavia. And I’m not talking about certain fringe elements, but that this was the overwhelming “narrative” in mainstream newspapers too at that time. Milosevici found quite a lot of sympathy among Romanians too. For one thing, Romania has always favoured good relations to Serbia. Another thing is that during the communist regime, people here saw Tito’s and implicitly Yugoslavia’s dissidence very favourably, seeing Yugoslavia as some kind of oasis of relative freedom in the midst of the soviet iron fist. For example Yugoslavia was viewed as an escape route and a gateway for those attempting to flee further to the west.
This is why even in a country exasperatingly favourable to NATO like mine, people took the side of Milosevic in this conflict.

You may be right that Vasilescu was hoping no one would read the document, though in my opinion a more plausible explanation is that he himself has not read it. I say this because at a superficial glance that document does seem to imply some kind of plot, especially if you just hunt for some key words. And when you already have the narrative, that is “you know” what happened, well it is not at all too difficult to just skip a closer reading.

This brings to the fore one question I always had. Do the “alternative” outlets who cite all sorts of sources actually take the time to read all of them carefully? sometimes there documents over hundred of pages long.
I have always wondered how many times did I take a commentator’s analysis for granted just because he cites some valid sources. Are these actually read thoroughly? How many just take a passage that interests them completely out of context?

Not by a long shot. The first sentence I quoted as an example is on the low end of the stupidity bar. The rest is far worse and there’s malevolent intent also. No quarter for that. As for Romanian public opinion, well … hardly a well informed one I’m afraid. And this guy is supposed to be a highly educated former pilot, flight controller and member of your Parliament so one should expect at least a degree of knowledge and not the straight jump into mythomania.

As for the document, that’s precisely my point: people don’t read them and take the very fact of quoting as a guarantee of reality. This document is in fact pretty much an excellent analysis minus the failure to predict an all out war. Americans are not good at perceiving an irrationality factor, I suppose.

Btw. I think he has read it. Duginists are basically a disinformation network and they use such tricks. For instance, I saw once how, when one of their authors was attacked with arguments, they just removed his name under the article and then claimed that he wasn’t an author at all. On the other hand if this guy learned that fairy tale on the genesis of South Slavs in school, you have a big problem with elementary school history in Romania. But I have a strong feeling that he was calculated, as most of them around Dugin are.

“and member of your Parliament so one should expect at least a degree of knowledge and not the straight jump into mythomania.’

He was a member of the parliament as a representative of one of the worst parties here in Romania. But that doesn’t really matter, since I don’t believe that there is any “good” or at least moderately decent party around here who does not parrot one direction or another.

“On the other hand if this guy learned that fairy tale on the genesis of South Slavs in school, you have a big problem with elementary school history in Romania.”

Oh, you have no idea. And it is getting worse and worse with each passing year. But, no, he didn’t learn that thing is school.